by Becky McGraw
The silence became oppressive, so did the air inside the truck, so after putting a crack in her window for ventilation, Leigh Ann rested her head on the back of the seat and dozed off. She slept the entire way home, waking only because she was jostled by the ruts in Wes's driveway.
Putting a hand on the dashboard to steady herself, she waited impatiently for him to pull the truck to a stop by the office. Before the truck stopped completely, she flung open the door and slid down to the ground. There was another car parked in front of the building, and a light was on in the office when she reached the porch.
The door flung inward, and Trey's eyes lit up as he darted through the doorway. He hit her legs like a linebacker, almost sending her down the steps backward. She laughed and hugged him to her. "Wow, you are a sight for sore eyes, baby boy."
"I missed you," he said hugging her waist tightly, as if he would never let her go. He stepped back and smiled his heart-rending toothless smile up at her. "Did you and daddy have fun while I was gone? I had fun...lots!"
Fun? No, she and Wes didn't have fun. They had a long and trying few days while he was gone, and Leigh Ann was so glad Trey was back home now. She had missed him, and the buffer he provided between her and Wes.
Things would be much easier now that he was back. She forced a smile, ruffled his hair then said, "Oh, yeah, we had lots of fun too. But both of us missed you terribly. I'm glad you're home."
Wes walked up beside her and Trey squealed, then threw himself against his father and her heart bounced in her chest. Closing his eyes, Wes hugged his son and swallowed a couple of times. His relief that his son was home was as obvious as his love for the boy.
Longing formed a knot in Leigh Ann's throat and she turned to walk inside the office, before she did something stupid, like cry.
When Wes released Trey, he took a step back and saw Trey's eyebrows shoot up. With excitement making his eyes shine he said, "I thought up a new joke, daddy. Knock, knock..."
"Who's there?" Wes asked patiently.
"Dontcha." Trey squirmed from foot to foot with a smile plastered on his face.
God he loved the boy. Trey was the bright spot in Wes's ordinary, but screwed up life. "Dontcha who?" Wes played along then waited for the punch line.
"Doncha know I saw Mickey Mouse, Goofy?" he replied with a belly laugh.
Wes grinned then ruffled Trey's hair. "That's awesome, squirt. I missed you, did you have a good time with grandma and grandpa?"
"Yeah, we had a great bacation! And I got to ride on an airplane!" With his front teeth missing, some of his son's words were twisted and Wes got a kick out of watching him wrangle with the words. He was damned glad he got to share this and all the other stages of his son's development as he grew up. Wes didn't want to miss one damned moment, and that could have happened if Laura hadn't given him sole custody.
If he hadn't basically bought his son from her.
Brenda Jepson stepped out on the porch, and Trey ran over to put his arms around his grandma's hips. With a patient but tired smile, she wrapped her arm around Trey. Wes knew his mother was getting older, and imagined keeping up with Trey at a place as big as Disneyworld hadn't been easy for her. Wes knew she was trying to be the mother that Trey didn't have, but he also realized how hard that was for her at her age.
He appreciated every single thing his mother did for him and his son. He didn't even want to think about where he would be now if she hadn't stepped in to help him after Laura left. For a while there he had been a mess trying to figure it out on his own.
"Yes we did," she agreed with a smile for Trey, but her eyes were filled with worry when they met his. His mother hesitated, then ruffled Trey's hair. "Trey, go get grandpa to bring your suitcase up to the house."
Wes knew that tactic was to give her a minute to talk to him privately. She had done the same thing to him when he was younger when she needed to talk to his father.
Something had happened. Fear ripped through Wes, but he waited. She would fill him in as soon as Trey left.
"Okay," Trey replied as he spun and ran toward the car, where Wes had seen his dad taking a nap, under the tree where they parked.
"Things go okay?" Wes asked with concern after his son was out of earshot.
His mother's eyes saddened. "He asked me if his mother didn't love him, and that's why she left." Brenda shook her head and put a hand over her mouth.
The words hung in the air between them for a second, then anger shot through Wes and he clenched his fists. "What did you tell him?"
"I told him that her leaving had nothing to do with him, of course. Doesn't mean he believed me. I think you might want to take him to a counselor, Wes. He's at that age."
Emotion clogged his throat, so he could only nod. He cleared his throat. "I'll look into it."
Wes hadn't done that before now, because Trey hadn't ever asked about his mother. It wasn't an issue, so Wes hadn't brought it up. Trey hadn't even known Laura really, he had only been three when she left. Wes had hoped he would never remember her, that life would go on, and they would all eventually recover. Wes had done his damndest to make his kid's life as normal as possible, make him forget. But it looked like he had failed.
"A friend of his at school asked him why he didn't have a mother. Some of the other kids have been teasing him, so you might want to talk to his teacher too."
"I don't know what good that will do," Wes replied with a frustrated sigh. "Kids are going to ask questions, the teacher isn't going to be able to stop that. I think I'll just see about getting him into counseling."
"I'll take him to the appointments. Just let me know when they are," she offered.
"Thanks, mom. And thank you for taking him away for a few days."
"We had a ball, and he was an angel, of course."
"Of course, he's your grandson, how could he be anything but?" Wes told her trying to lighten the mood.
A smile lit her face from the inside. "He's my heart, and he's just like you were at that age." She stepped forward to put her arms around his waist and squeezed.
Wes's heart swelled with love. "Getting into trouble from daylight to dark, and always asking why?"
"You weren't any trouble at all...still aren't. Neither is Trey. But you should talk to him, find out where his head is about Laura, let him know why she left." She patted his chest and pulled away. "It's for the best."
"If I knew why she left, I'd do that. I don't think telling him she was a lying, cheating, self-centered bitch would be the right thing."
"Um, no it wouldn't. Think about it and talk to a counselor to find out how to approach it," she suggested.
Someone cleared their throat behind him and Wes spun around to see Leigh Ann standing in the doorway of the office.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Wes wondered how long Leigh Ann had been standing there. The sympathy shining from her bright blue eyes told him long enough.
Heat crawled up his neck to his face, as he asked shortly, "You need something?"
"I wanted to tell you that your four o'clock appointment is canceled."
He had canceled his other appointments for the day, after he got the call from Clay. He imagined the one animal owner he hadn't gotten in touch with had just gotten his message and called back. Not an emergency, so he wondered why Leigh Ann felt the need to come out here to personally tell him. To interrupt his conversation with his mother.
"Okay, have you started on the billing?" he asked brusquely, knowing she hadn't.
They had been gone half the morning, and had just gotten back to the office. The question was intended to set the tone of their interaction for the rest of the day. His purpose was to get her busy doing something other than getting in his business, or wanting to talk right now. To keep her distracted, so he could plan the conversation he knew they were going to have after they quit for the day. This conversation would be twice as bad as the one he was dreading before. He had slept with her now, this was about more than a simple kiss no
w.
Leigh Ann didn't budge to go back into the office though. Tilting her head, her eyes darted to his mother then back to him expectantly. It was obvious she wanted to be introduced to her. Even though it was the polite thing to do, Wes wasn't going there. Introductions weren't necessary, because Leigh Ann was not going to be a fixture in his life.
"You hired a new assistant?" his mother asked curiously, stepping around him to extend her hand to Leigh Ann. "I'm Brenda Jepson, Wes's mother."
"Leigh Ann Baker," she replied taking mother's hand, before adding sweetly, "It's nice to meet you, ma'am."
There were those practiced manners, and she even followed it up with that wide toothy smile that didn't quite reach her beautiful blue eyes. Her stage smile. It probably fooled a lot of people, but Wes had seen the real thing, and knew better.
Laura had that same capability. She could be pissed off as hell at him, but if someone came up on them arguing she could smile like nothing had happened. That's why when she left him, everyone wondered what had happened. They probably all thought it was his fault she left, because none of them knew the real Laura Jepson.
This woman was too much like his ex-wife for him to take the chance of getting closer to find out who the real Leigh Ann Baker was. He didn't want a woman who he had to wonder from minute to minute if she was pretending to care about him, biding her time with him, until the next best thing came along. Putting both his son and himself in that situation just wasn't worth it to him. There were other women out there who Wes wouldn't have to figure out, or wonder about. That was the kind of woman he wanted.
"It's nice to see my son finally hired someone to help him," his mother replied with a glance at him, then her intuitive eyes studied Leigh Ann, and Wes bit back a groan. "He needs all the help he can get."
What Wes needed was to keep these two women apart, until Leigh Ann left. His mother was smart as hell, she would pick up on the tension buzzing between them, and figure things out. "Leigh Ann, I need that billing finished tonight," he reminded sharply.
Her eyebrows raised, and her smile drifted downward. The light in her eyes dimmed like someone has turned off a switch. Dragging her eyes from his, Leigh Ann replied smartly, "Yes, sir." She cut her eyes at him, then gave him a mock salute with her middle finger behind his mother's back, as she stomped into the office, leaving the door standing open. Because he couldn't help himself, his eyes followed the enticing sway of her ass as she glided across the floor.
"She seems nice," his mother said.
"She's nice enough, but I'm afraid she isn't going to work out." Wes knew she would leave, the writing was on the wall. With every minute that passed today her agitation with him grew. Once they had their talk, she would be gone for good. Out of his house, and probably out of his life. There was no way they could work together now, or be friends for that matter. It just didn't work that way. The cow was out of the barn, and there was no stuffing her back inside, and pretending it didn't happen.
Wes wasn't much of a pretender anyway, he liked reality. The reality of the matter was he felt kind of sick inside at the thought of her leaving, but knew it was for the best. Better for his son who was getting too attached to the woman with her living in their house. Better for him, because if she wasn't in his life, there wasn't a chance she would move into his heart.
"Why?" The one word question startled Wes and his eyes flew to his mother.
Because I can't let myself fall in love with her, and I'm damned close to doing that. He shoved that thought to the back of his mind, and said instead, "Because she's never worked in a vet office before...she's the sister of a friend, so I'm giving her a chance."
Wes had given her a chance, and then snatched it away by making love to her. As long as Leigh Ann didn't tell Roxanne what happened, and he didn't think she would, Wes could at least maintain his friendship with her sister. Or he hoped he could.
"Well, it's about time you gave someone a chance," she replied, her words seeming to contain a hidden meaning.
Wes lowered his voice, casting a quick glance at Leigh Ann who was sitting at the reception desk, apparently working on his billing. "It's not like that, mama. She's not the type of woman I want, or need. She's just my assistant, nothing more."
"What is your type of woman then?" Brenda volleyed, her hazel eyes flashing, her voice not nearly as low as Wes's had been. "Wes, Trey needs a mother, and you need a wife." Wes cast another nervous glance at Leigh Ann who seemed to be engrossed in whatever she was doing on the computer.
"I'll let you know when I figure that out, mama," he assured her. "I know exactly what I don't want though, and that is a woman anything like Laura. If I ever go there again, it will be with someone totally opposite. I'm not putting myself or Trey through that again."
Wes had thought about it a lot over the last seven years. He didn't really want another woman in his life permanently at all, but he knew Trey needed a mother. He decided that the next time he got involved with a woman, it wouldn't be with one there was an iota of a chance he would fall in love with. Love put you at a disadvantage in a relationship. It gave the other person the strings to work you like a puppet, gave them the power.
Wes would settle for respect. If he found a woman who respected him and the vows they took, he would be happy, and he would make damn sure she was happy. He wanted to keep the power and control in the relationship next time. His son would have a mother, he would have a partner, and most of all they would have peace. He wouldn't have to worry about beating other men off with a stick, and he could focus on what was important.
His son.
"Open your heart again, Wes. I know she hurt you, but she wins if you let it change the man you were before you met her."
Puffing out his cheeks he sighed, and said, "Ma, I really don't have time right now to talk about this. I have things to do, and I want to spend some time with Trey."
"I'm sorry, but your dad and I are just worried about you. You need to slow down and smell the roses, son. You're only thirty-four years old, and your life is not over."
Honeysuckle, he corrected in his mind, his senses sharpening to Leigh Ann's faint scent that permeated his office now. Sucking in a breath he tried to clear the heady fragrance from his head. He'd stick to the roses, those weren't addictive and dangerous to his peace of mind. Roses he could sniff and go on down the garden path of life.
He didn't need a wife, especially one like Leigh Ann. He would just have to try harder to be both mother and father to his son, or start looking for a woman who would fit his lifestyle. They would get by until then, and he would get Trey into counseling. If a kind, sedate and loving woman came along, maybe he'd consider marrying again.
Until then, he would wait. Wes wasn't in a hurry.
"Thanks for worrying, mom, but we'll be fine, I promise." He and Trey would be fine, because Wes was going to make sure of it.
Leigh Ann tried to focus on the computer screen, but her ears were burning up. She heard every word of Wes and his mother's conversation out on the front porch.
Eavesdropping is rude, Leigh Ann. Her mother's voice popped into her head unexpectedly, and she gritted her teeth. Eavesdroppers never hear anything good about themselves.
"Shut up, mama," she grumbled, her fingers hitting the keys a lot harder and faster than she actually typed. In fact, she was just typing a bunch of gobbledygoop, while her ears honed in like a spy device on what Wes and his mother were saying.
Her mother was right, she hadn't heard anything good about herself, or anything she wanted to hear. Not going to work out...she's not the type of woman I want or need...she's just my assistant. What kind of woman did he think she was? A woman like his ex-wife evidently.
He had called his ex-wife a selfish, lying, cheating bitch. That must be what he thought of her too. And he'd made love to her even though he felt that way about her. So what did that say about him? He was a selfish bastard who had used her, because he wanted to get laid and she was available.
&
nbsp; Sickness boiled in Leigh Ann's stomach, heated by the anger consuming her. As soon as she could, she was finding another job and getting the hell out of here. Because it was the right thing to do, she would give him notice that she was leaving, give him time to find someone else, but there was no way Leigh Ann was staying here.
Wes Jepson was not the man she thought he was. Leigh Ann couldn't tell her sister she was leaving because she had slept with him, that he'd used her. Roxanne and Wes were friends, and Leigh Ann didn't want to be the cause of ending that. The reason she'd give her sister would be she just wasn't cut out for this job. That her sister would buy. Roxanne had seen it herself.
Hearing the front door close, Leigh Ann gathered her emotions and molded them into a front she'd assumed many times. Polite, calm and professional. She knew how to do this and never let him know how much he'd hurt her. Leigh Ann was an expert at repressing her emotions, she'd practiced it all her life.
Leaning on the door, he crossed his arms over his chest, his face as hard as his eyes. "We need to talk tonight," he told her.
She looked up at him, feigning surprise. "Oh? We can talk now, if you want," she replied chirpily, batting her eyes and smiling. The sooner, the better in Leigh Ann's opinion.
One brow lifted as he said, "About last night...."
"What about last night?" Anger tried to sharpen her words, but she fought it back. "I think I get the picture," she said smiling, her face feeling like it was going to crack. "It was a one-time thing, right?" Damn straight that's what it was, because it would be a cold day in hell before she let this man touch her again.
"I don't want you to get the wrong idea..."
Leigh Ann lifted a hand to cut him off. "We had fun, it was a little stress relief. Didn't mean anything, right?" That sickness in her stomach surged up to her throat, but she clamped it down and held her broad smile, although it felt like a ton of bricks sat at the corners of her mouth.
